FairPoint declares impasse, unions disagree

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — FairPoint Communications announced an impasse Thursday after four months of contract talks with two unions and imposed its final offer that freezes the current pension plan and eliminates retiree health care benefits. The unions accused the telecommunications company of bargaining in bad faith and told members to be on "standby" for a strike or lockout.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — FairPoint Communications announced an impasse Thursday after four months of contract talks with two unions and imposed its final offer that freezes the current pension plan and eliminates retiree health care benefits. The unions accused the telecommunications company of bargaining in bad faith and told members to be on "standby" for a strike or lockout.

The unions responded to the company's claim of an impasse by asking the National Labor Relations Board to intervene and reinstate the contract that expired on Aug. 2.

Peter McLaughlin, chairman of the unions' bargaining committee, said contract negotiations that began in April have been a "one-way street" with cost-savings proposals by the union but no movement by the company. The company says it has to reduce labor costs and that it's willing to listen to further proposals by the unions.

"We have not reached an impasse. The company should stay at the table and continue to work with us to reach an acceptable agreement," said McLaughlin, business manager of International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2327 in Augusta.

FairPoint's declaration came after unions offered a new proposal Wednesday. Labor leaders were notified after negotiations broke up Wednesday evening that the company had declared an impasse.

Union workers were told be on "standby" for a strike or lockout as union leaders assessed the 100-page company contract, said Jen Nappi, IEBW assistant business manager in Augusta.

Effective Thursday morning, FairPoint imposed its final offer, which it says is permitted under federal law. "It is regrettable that the issues could not be resolved through bargaining," company spokeswoman Angelynne Amores Beaudry said in a statement.

The proposal that went into effect keeps wages unchanged, but it addresses some of the company's key concerns: pension liability and health care costs.

Under the new plan, the company is freezing the existing defined benefit pension plan, while preserving employees' current accrued benefits and implementing a new plan. The company also eliminated retiree health care benefits for current employees, and it also required current employees to share some health care costs for the first time.

But the proposal also allows the company to outsource jobs, one of the unions' biggest concerns throughout the negotiations, Nappi said.

The IEBW, along with the Communications Workers of America, said the company never put forth a counter offer to any of the unions' recent proposals.

"The company has refused to bargain with us, and their negotiators have even attempted to intimidate and bully us throughout the process," said Glenn Brackett from IBEW Local 2320 in Manchester, New Hampshire.

North Carolina-based FairPoint has contended its old contract that retained virtually all of the benefits that workers had enjoyed under Verizon were out of sync with industry norms.

FairPoint grew six-fold overnight when it bought Verizon's land holdings in northern New England for $2.3 billion in 2007. The company lost customers as it struggled because of operational and integration problems, and the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy about 18 months later.

FairPoint has continued to struggle since emerging from bankruptcy in 2011. The company has yet to reverse net losses posted for every year of operation since the Verizon purchase.